-
Manchester United have by far the biggest wage bill in the Premier League
-
Four Premier League clubs spend over £100,000,000 on wages per year
-
Nine clubs are under £50,000,000 in total player salary
Anyone who occasionally looks in on the football odds cannot avoid the discourse about Premier League wage bills. Players wanting pay rises provokes fervent debate.
The actual numbers are not always reported clearly. Sometimes they include bonus and signing on fees.
Sometimes it’s one figure for the whole contract, and occasionally it’s a random muddle to make the figures seem as gaudy as possible.
Premier League wage bills have always been a controversial topic. It riles people up to see the wages that are handed out to footballers.
So, let’s take a deeper look at a breakdown of Premier League payrolls in 2021/22, starting with total wages by club.
Premier League Wages By Club:
-
Manchester United - £226,646,200
-
Chelsea - £162,642,000
-
Manchester City - £143,156,000
-
Liverpool - £139,178,000
-
Arsenal - £99,765,273
-
Tottenham – £78,735,200
-
Everton – £75,563,000
-
West Ham - £63,270,000
-
Leicester – £54,525,000
-
Crystal Palace – £51,765,000
-
Aston Villa - £51,653,396
-
Newcastle – £46,886,200
-
Wolves – £45,291,600
-
Southampton – £43,790,000
-
Brighton – £37,177,333
-
Burnley – £33,848,000
-
Watford – £30,073,000
-
Norwich – £24,240,000
-
Leeds – £17,926,800
-
Brentford – £12,797,200
Highest Paid Player At Each Club:
If you’ve taken a look at Harry Kane net worth, you’ll not be surprised to see the England captain feature on this list.
We have included the highest weekly wage at every Premier League club below, all of which are courtesy of Spotrac.
Even if you’re very familiar with Premier League Odds some of the players included might shock you.
Plenty are obvious, but a few of these names and their wages will raise eyebrows.
-
Arsenal – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, £250,000
-
Aston Villa – Danny Ings, £120,000
-
Brentford – Pontus Jansson, David Raya, £25,000
-
Brighton – Adam Lallana, £90,385
-
Burnley – Ben Mee, £55,000
-
Chelsea – Romelu Lukaku, £325,000
-
Crystal Palace – Wilfried Zaha, £130,000
-
Everton – Yerry Mina, £120,000
-
Leeds – Raphinha, £63,500
-
Leicester – Jamie Vardy, £140,000
-
Liverpool – Virgil van Dijk, £220,000
-
Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne, £400,000
-
Manchester United – Cristiano Ronaldo, £510,000
-
Newcastle – Joelinton, £86,538
-
Norwich – Ben Gibson, £40,000
-
Southampton – Theo Walcott, £75,000
-
Tottenham – Harry Kane, Tanguy Ndombele, £200,000
-
Watford – Moussa Sissoko, £80,000
-
West Ham – Kurt Zouma, £120,000
-
Wolves – Jose Moutinho, £100,000
Highest Paid Goalkeeper In Premier League:
Goalkeepers aren’t usually thought of when it comes to massive wages.
That’s generally an accurate assumption in the Premier League, too. Only one stopper ranks in the top 30 in weekly salary. David De Gea is the sole exception to the rule.
Seasons of elite performance and relentless interest from Real Madrid earned him a whopping contract with Manchester United, which puts him as the third-highest Premier League earner in the 2021/22 campaign.
Kepa Arrizabalaga has a case as the most overpaid player in the league, particularly now he’s slumped to backup status behind Edouard Mendy. Alisson Becker is a bargain at his wage.
Dean Henderson’s salary is the other standout.
It’s no surprise Manchester United have the biggest wage bill in England when they’re handing massive wages to two goalkeepers.
Here are the top five salaries among Premier League goalkeepers.
-
David De Gea - £375,000
-
Kepa Arrizabalaga - £155,000
-
Alisson Becker - £150,000
-
Kasper Schmeichel - £130,000
-
Bernd Leno, Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, Hugo Lloris - £100,000
Highest Paid Defender In Premier League:
Recently arriving from Real Madrid, it’s hardly a surprise to see Raphael Varane at the top of this pile. Only two other defenders earn more than £200,000.
John Stones’ high-profile transfer to Manchester City was always going to result in a massive contract.
Virgil van Dijk’s brilliance at Liverpool makes his wage look pretty reasonable.
Chelsea clearly had to cough up a big-money deal to lure Ben Chilwell from Leicester. The same goes for Manchester United when they signed Harry Maguire.
The top five highest paid defenders in the Premier League are listed below.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw round out the top eight, and they are the only other defenders on £150,000 or more.
-
Raphael Varane - £340,000
-
John Stones - £250,000
-
Virgil van Dijk - £220,000
-
Ben Chilwell - £190,000
-
Harry Maguire - £189,904
Highest Paid Midfielder In Premier League:
Arguably the best midfielder in the world and with consecutive PFA Player of the Year awards in his cabinet, Kevin De Bruyne is also the highest paid midfielder in the Premier League.
His newest teammate sits in second place, albeit on £100,000 less per week.
Jack Grealish’s salary took a massive leap when he swapped Villa Park for the Etihad, slotting him just ahead of World Cup winner N’Golo Kante.
Teammates for France and often duelling in the Premier League, it’s fitting that Kante and Paul Pogba are on the same weekly wage.
The French duo are far clear of Thomas Partey, Thiago and Tanguy Ndombele, who are all tied for fifth on £200,000 per week.
-
Kevin De Bruyne - £400,000
-
Jack Grealish - £300,000
-
N’Golo Kante - £290,000
-
Paul Pogba - £290,000
-
Thomas Partey, Thiago, Tanguy Ndombele - £200,000
Highest Paid Striker In Premier League:
Much is made of Cristiano Ronaldo net worth. He’s one of the wealthiest sportspeople of all-time, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Portuguese star is on over half a million pounds per week at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo’s wage is miles clear of even the best Premier League strikers. It’s a figure so vast that only two other forwards are within £200,000 of it.
Wages have taken off in recent years. As ever, it’s the goal creators and scorers who pocket the biggest sums.
The five highest paid strikers in the Premier League are also in the top 11 of overall earners.
There are 14 Premier League forwards on £150,000 or more per week. That includes 11 on £200,000 or more.
-
Cristiano Ronaldo - £510,000
-
Jadon Sancho - £350,000
-
Romelu Lukaku - £325,000
-
Raheem Sterling - £300,000
-
Timo Werner - £272,000
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
